Tag printing machine



23, 1948. y, FLOOD ET AL 2,438,118

TAG PRINTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 10, 1942 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 ave-afar! J akgarl 2 Z rd? o0 @WMMJW- Inf/anions Carl A. Flood 8 Slieets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 10, 1942 L A m D m L F w 5 TAG PRINTING MACHINE IZZwara? E. w. FLOOD ET AL 2,438,118

TAG PRINTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 10, 1942 a Sheets-Sheet 3 Man-ch 23, 1948. E. w. FLOOD ET AL 2,438,113

TAG PRINTING mcnnm Filed Oct. 10, 1942 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 I lvnl H I nvcn far:

; CarlA. Flood;

Edit/era W F1000! @y M III III HI IHHIII w uNQ Much 23, 3948.

E. w, FLOOD ET AL TAG PRINTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 10, 1942 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 raven Carl A Flood Ida/arc? II/IZOoaZ @W m L A H D O O L F W E TAG PRINTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 10, 1942 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 [lava-fliers CarlA. F1000? f vdw I Q 2%,

I nvcn for! 601! A. Flaod' 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 E. W. FLOQD ET AL TAG PRINTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 10. 1942 $3 ww fhm i l) ll E. w; FLOOD ET AL TAG PRINTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 1 1942 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 11 1221101019013 caflAFlmd Nu mnwxxhsk kwkuxk T 3 5% 5a m I MQ U11 4 $535 m I Q Mum Q E:

P? $35k EE mag Patented Mar. 23, 1948 TAGPRINTING MACHINE Edward W. Flood and Carl A. Flood, Framingham, Mass.. assignors to Dennison Manufacturing Company, Framingliam, Masa, a corporation of Massachusetts Application October 10, 1942, Serial No. 461,564

This invention relates to an improvement in the art of pin ticketing material, and more particularly in a machine by which tags are prepared as by printing and thereafter attached by pins to the material.

The patents to Carl A. Flood, No. 2,083,150, granted June 8, 1937, and No. 2,136,941, granted November 15, 1938, each discloses machines of this general type wherein tags are fed in a strip to a predetermined location at which the tags are printed, severed from the strip, and fed individually to a point at which they are attached to a material by the use of pins supplied at that point. The present invention is an improvement upon these patented machines, and has as its primary object to provide a tag printing machine in which a plurality of longitudinally extending zones of the tag can receive the same impression of printing from the same printing type, by appropriate relative movement between the printing head and the tag, the head acting to print successively in the various relative positions of the head and tag.

A further object is to provide an improved operation of a shiftable tag-carrying platen to bring about the relative movement between the printing head and platen in the successive printings of the several longitudinally extending zones of the tag carried thereby.

A further object is to provide controlling means for selectively determining the number of relative shifts between printing head and tag and the number of printings per tag.

Another object is to provide for rendering inefiective the means for causing relative shift between the printing head and tag and for limitin the action of the printing means to one printing per tag, when desired.

As is well known in the art of stock control and price marking, it is often desirable for price tags to carry the same printed matter repeated one or more times on the same tag, so that in the course of business the tag can be cut or torn apart into several printed portions each used for a different purpose in store accounting. It is also. desirable when tags are pinned or otherwise fastened to merchandise to fasten the tag by a pin, staple, or other fastener that extends laterally across the top of the tag. With the tag so fastened it is desirable that each occurrence 4 Claims. (or. 101-288) of the text that is reproduced several times on the tag shall occupy' a' separate longitudinally extending zonelonthe tag. i. e. a separate zone extending up and down on the tag. each such zone that carries the identical text lying side by side.

For a number of years'it has been recognized that this arrangement of the zones carrying the several copies of the text is desirable in order that the free end of the tag opposite to the end that is pinned or otherwise fastened to the merchandise, may include the end portions of each of the several such zones. Then in re-marking or otherwise changing the text of the tag while on the merchandise, each one of the several zones of the tag has a readily accessible end portion distant from the pin or fastener-to receive a further mark or have a part thereof cut oil, or both, all without interference with the pin or the fastener. However, it is undesirable to have to .set up or arrange separate type or separate sets of printing elements to print in the respective longitudinal zones because there is danger of error and failure to set up'the identical text in the separate sets of type.

The present invention is particularly applicable to the printing of tags such as just described, and has the advantage of enabling such tags with longitudinally extending zones of printing to be printed by a single set of type set up to print the text which is to be repeated in the several longitudinally extending zones of the tag. This use of a single set of type to make the repeated impressions on the tag is advantageous in assuring absolute uniformity in the text in the several zones of the tag.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from a consideration of this specification and its drawings wherein the invention is explained by way of example.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevation of a machine embodying this invention;

Fig. 2 is a left elevation of the machine with portions broken away;

Fig. 3 is a partial right elevation of the machine taken on a larger scale and disclosing only the forward portion thereof;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the table of the machine;

' P11113035 of clarity.

Fig. 5 is a view of the mechanism by which the tags are severed and printed, looking from front to rear, and with parts broken away and omitted:

Fig. 6 is a similar view showing the printing mechanism;

Fig. 7 is a similar view showing the platen moving mechanism;

Fig. 8 is a left-hand view of the mechanism shown in Fig. '7, taken along the line 8-8:

Fig. 9 is a plan view on a reduced scale illus-' trating the relation of the tag strip and the pin strip as they are fed to the table;

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional-view taken along the line l0l0 of Fig. 4, but on a larger scale,

showing the tag feeding guideway with a wide tag therein:

Fig. 11 is a view similar -to Fig. 10 showing a narrower tag in the guideway;

Figs. 12, 13 and 14, inclusive, illustrate the various positions taken by a tag in which three separate printing impressions are applied thereto;

Fig. 15 illustrates the completed tag as it is being advanced from the platen;

Fig. 16 illustrates the tag when the first of three impressions is being applied thereto and while the severing of'the tag from the strip is taking place: and v Fig. 17 is a chart illustrating diagrammatically the relative timing of the mechanical movements controlled by the various cams. f

The machine 20, illustrated in ;the drawings as.one embodiment of the invention. is adapted to print tags T (Figs. l2to 15) with one, two or three identical longitudinally extending zones, each carrying data as to the selling price, cost,

- style, source, etc. of the material to which the tag is to be attached by the machine. Since, when only one or two such zones are to be printed on the tag, .a tag approximately two-thirds of I the width of that shown in Figs. 12; 13, 14 and 15- will be sufiicient, the machine is provided with means by which such a tag can be handled.

The machine 20 includes a base 2|, a front wall 22, portions 'of which are cut away, and a table 23 upon which the work is performed, as will be described herein. Detachable walls which furtherenclose the-space between the base and table have been omitted in the drawings for the The main shaft 25 by which the various instrumentalities are actuated is supported at its forward end in the front wall 22 and near its rear end in a casing 26. This shaft is driven by a motor through suitable gearing here shown as including a worm 28 and worm gear 29, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and manually controlled clutch mechanism. The shaft and gears are enclosed within the casing 26 which also serves as one of the supports for the table 23. The clutch mechanism shown is of the type described in detail in the patent to Flood No. 2,083,150, "and includes a disk 30 fixed to the shaft 25, a finger 3| which prevents movement of the disk in one direction, a pawl 32 on disk 30 which engages a ratchet wheel (not shown) driven by the worm gear 29 and a movable block 33 which in one position (Fig. 2) engages the pawl 32, disconnects the pawl from its ratchet wheel, and prevents rotation of disk 30 and the shaft 25. The block 33 is mounted at one end of a rod 34 which extends below the table 23 through the front wall 22 and carries plate 35 adapted to be pushed in by the thumb or finger of the operator to set the machine in operation. Suitable spring means 4 (not shown) are provided to hold the block 28 normally in engagement with the pawl 22.

Preferably. as shown in the drawings, the machine may be supplied with strips of tags '1 of the character disclosed in the patent to Flood No. 2,136,941. which are formed of two laminae as by folding the sheet back upon itself and securing the folded portions together and in which the outer face is supplied near the fold line with a plurality of equally spaced holes which are engaged by the feeding means to advance the strip a plurality of predetermined distances.

The tags T are supplied from a magazine 40 mounted upon the table 23 and are cut from a strip 8 formed in a coil which is rotatably supported upon a stud 4| within the magazine. The stud 4| is fixed rigidly on a cross-plate 42 and projects from both faces thereof parallel to the table 23. The coil on the stud 4| is between vertical straps 43 and 44. The strap 43 is mounted on the cross-plate 42 and terminates at each end in flanges 45 which project toward the strap 44. The strap 44 is mounted on the stud 4| and has a central bayonet type opening 46 adapted to enter one of the two annular grooves 41 in the stud 4|. If the strip is of the width to make tags for three columns of data in three longitudinally extending zones, as shown in Fig. i, the strap 44 engages the outer groove 41. and if the strip is of the width to make tags for two columns of data, in two longitudinally extending zones, the strap engages the inner groove 41. The strip 8 is guided between curved plates 43 and 49 (Figs. 2 and 4) into a guideway 50 (Fig. 4) along which it is fed.

The tag feeding means here shown is described in detail in the Flood Patent No. 2,083,150. Such means comprises briefly a pair of pivotally mounted bell crank levers 5| and 52 (Fig. 2) actuated by cams 53 and 54 on the shaft 25, with which-cams they are held in contact by springs 55, a feeding finger 56 (Fig. 4) pivoted on the lever 5|, and a pusher 51 pivoted on the lever 52 and yieldably held in contact with the tag strip. Feeding finger 56 and pusher 51 are yieldingly held downwardly by coil springs 56 and 51' respectively.

The inner wall of the guideway 50 is formed by an inverted U-shaped guide bar 50 pivotally mounted on brackets 59 (Figs. 4, 10 and 11). In the base plate 60 of the guideway 50 is formed a longitudinally extending groove 6| (Figs. 10 and 11) near the inner edge of the base plate. When the tag strip S is of the width to receive three columns of identical data, the strip passes under the outer wall 62 of the guide bar 53 and is guided by the inner wall 62 of the guide bar 58, as shown in Fig. 10. If, however, the strip S is narrower so as to receive two columns only of identical data, the strip is guided by the outer wall 62 which then rests in the groove 5 l, as shown in Fig. 11.

Occasions arise, as for example a change in strips, when it is desired to suspend the feed of the strip while continuing the operation of the other elements of the machine. A plate 63 normally held by a set screw 64 in the position shown in Fig. 4 can, thereupon, be advanced in the guideway 50 below the feeding tip of the finger 56 far enough so that, although the finger is free to reciprocate, it cannot engage the holes in the tag strip. Moreover, if tags half the length of those shown in Figs. 12 to 16, inclusive. are desired, the plate 63 will be advanced to such an extent that while the feeding finger 55 travels 5 idly thereon during the first half of its movement,

-it is free to engage the tag during the second half of its movement with the result that the forward travel of the strip is reduced accordingly.

In the preferred form of the invention herein shown, the leading end of the strip S passes from the guideway onto a platen 65 which comprises a base 68 on which the tag rests during the printing operation, and a pair of undercut margin strips 61 and 68. At the end of the guideway 50 is mounted a. vertical cross-plate 89 which is spaced above the guideway so that the strip passes freely thereunder and which is notched in its lower edge to permit travel of the pusher 51 thereunder (see Fig. 5). After the leading end of the strip S has traveled a predetermined distance onto the platen 65, the portion thereon is severed from the strip by a cutting knife I0. The knife I moves in a plane at right angles to the guideway and is rigidly secured to the upper arm of a bell crank lever II (Fig. 4) rockable about a stud shaft I2 and having on its other arm. a roller I3 (Fig. 3) which is yieldably held in contact with a cam I4 on the shaft 25 by a spring I5.

The base plate 66 of the platen 65 is rigidly mounted upon a plate 80 (Figs. 4 and '7) mounted for reciprocation over the table 23 between guides 8I at right angles to the strip guideway 50. The outer margin strip 61 is rigidly secured to the base plate 66 of the platen 65. The inner margin strip 68, however, is adjustable so that the platen will receive tags T of two different widths. Projecting inwardly from the strip 68 is an arm 82 (Figs. 4 and 7) which terminates in a flange 83 (Fig. '7) projecting downwardly past the inner edge of the base plate 66. Carried by the arm 82 is a manually adjustable rod 84 which passes freely through openings in posts 85 and 86 mounted on'the plate 80. A spring plate 8! carried by the post 86 bears against the rod 84 and frictionally resists its movement. When the wider tag T is in use, the inner margin strip 68 is set as shown in the drawings (Fig. 7), with the arm 82 and flange 83 abutting the post 85, and when a narrower tag is used, the strip 68 is set with the flange 83 in contact with the inner edge of the base plate 66.

The platen 65 supports the tag while the columns of data are applied thereto as by a printing head 90 which'may be of any desired construction, and which preferably is in the form of a chase adapted to receive and hold several lines of changeable type 9| capable, if desired, of being set up to print a column consisting of several lines one under the other. The impression made by this set of type is ordinarily to be repeated in each of the number of longitudinally extending zones of the tag.

Preferably the chase of the printing head has a capacity large enough so. that when desired it may hold a group of type of an area which will substantially flll up a tag, or the major part of a, tag at one impression. Ordinarily, however, a lesser width of the chase will be used to bold type, and the area of the type will be such as can print on one of the several longitudinallyextending zones of a tag, and then to print in the one or more other such zones of the same tag. The head 80 (see Fig. 6), which includes a ribbon 92 by which the type is provided with ink, is mounted on a plate 83 (Figs. and 6) vertically reeiprocable in a cage 94 supported by the table 23. The printing head 90 is reciprocated by a bell crank lever 95 through a link 96 which connects the plate 93 to one arm of the lever 95.

I 6 The lever 95 is mounted to rock about the stud shaft 12 which also supports the knife lever II. The other arm of the lever 95 is connected by bolts 96 and 91 to one arm of a bell crank lever I00 also mounted to rock about the stud shaft 12. The bolt 96 limits positively any movement of separation of the levers 95 and I00 while the bolt 91 acts through a spring 98 and nut 99 (see Fig. 5) to hold the levers yieldably at the relation set by the bolt 96. Thus, these bolts permit adiustment of the amount of pressure exerted by the head 90 upon the tag. The lever I00 terminates at its other end In a yoke IOI which supports a pin I02 on which a roller I03 turns freely. As pointed out above, the printing head 90 applies one, two or three impressions upon the tag in the platen 65. These three operations are imparted to the head by cams I05, I06 and I0! (Fig. 6) mounted on the shaft 25. The roller I03 is brought selectively into position to be contacted by either cam I05 alone, or by cams I05 and I06, or by all three cams I05, I06 and I0! depending upon the number of impressions per tag, by means of a shifter bar I08 (Figs. 3, 5 and 6) pivotally mounted on the lever I00 by a pin I09 carried by a boss H0. The lower end of the shifter bar terminates in a yoke III which spans the roller I03 and is so formed that its legs are adapted to bear against the side walls of the roller (see Fig. 3). At the upper end of the shifter bar I08 ismounted a stud II2 which is adapted to engage selectively any one of three depressions II3 (Fig. 3) arranged arcuately in a plate II l carried by the lever I00. A spring II5 (Fig. 6)

connected at one end to the lever I00 and at the other end to a post II6 depending from the table 23 holds the roller I03 yieldably in contact with the selected cam or group of cams. Figs. 3 and 5 show the machine set so that only a single column is printed on each tag, the roller I03 being set for engagement with only the cam I05, and Fig. 6 shows the machine set so that three columns are printed on each tag.

The movement of the platen 65 depends upon the number of impressions applied by the printing head 80. If only a single column is to be printed, the platen remains stationary and the printed tag is at the proper time pushed out of the platen. If two columns are to be printed,

the platen is shifted first to the right where the left one of the two columns is printed, then to the original position, i. e. that at which the tag is received, for the printing of the other of the two columns and the discharge of the tag. If

three columns are to be printed, the middle column (Figs. 12 and 16) is printed with the platen in its original position, this printing taking place near the end of a rotation of the main shaft 25. The platen is then shifted to the right during the-next rotation of the main shaft to receive the second or left impression (Fig. 13), then the platen, after printing of the second column, is shifted to the left so that the third column is applied at the right of the initial column (Fig. 14) and finally returned to the original position at which the tag'is discharged (Fig. 15).

The shifting movement is imparted to the platen by a lever I20 pinned or otherwise attached to a rock shaft I2I supported in journals on the base 2I. The lever I 20 is connected by a link I22 to a tab I23 depending from the plate through a slot I24 (Fig. 8) in the table 23. Integral with or rigidly secured to the lever I20 is a bar I25 (Fig. 8) which extends parallel to the rock shaft I2I and carries at its outer end a stud 7 orpin I28. Mountedtorockfreelyontherock shaft I 2| and shiftable therealong is a lever I21. The lever I21 is provided with three suitably spaced holes or depressions I28 each adapted to receive the pin or stud I 2'. Rotatablymoimted in a slot I2. at the outer end of the other arm of the lever I21 is a roller Ill adapted to mesh selectively with any one or three cams I2I. I32 and I mounted upon the main shaft 28. The depressions I28 are so arranged that. when the lever I21 is shifted so that the stud I24 is seated in a selected depression. the roller Ill will bear against the cam associated with that depression (see Fig, 8). A spring I34 attached at one end to a stud I25 carried by the table 22 and at the other end to the tab I28 yieldably holds the roller It. in contact with the selected cam. In order to shift the roller I" and bring it into engagement with a'desired cam, the plate "is drawn to its advanced position, i. e. to the left in Fig. 7. asalnst the urge of the spring I34. and the lever I2. is thus moved positively in the counterclockwise direction (Fig. 7). When the lever I2ll is somoved. I

the lever I21 is free to be rocked on the shaft I2I to disengage the stud I 2 from the depression I28 in which it is seated so that the lever I21 can he slid longitudinally along the shaft I 2| until the desired depression is brought into register with the stud. The lever I is now released so that the roller III will bear against the selected cam.

A button I 36 (Fig. 4) on the table I0 and a knob- I31 on the lever I21 (Figs. 5,.7. and 8) facilitate this selection of the cam by which the movement of the platen is controlled. In the illustrated machine. the cam ISI is provided with three peripheral levels or dwells, the cam I22 is provided with two peripheral levels or dwells, and the periphery of the cam I33 is circular and concentric (see Fig. 7). Thus, the machine, as shown in Figs. '1 and 8, is set with the roller IIII bearing against the cam Ill to impart three shifts of the platen so that three columns of data will be printed on the tag.

After the printing of the tag is finished. the pusher 51 advances into engagement with the rear edge of the tag, removing it from the platen 5 into the range of the unit by which the tag is pinned to the material for which it has been prepared. The unit illustrated in the drawings is substantially that disclosed in the above-mentioned patent to Carl A. Flood No. 2,083,150, and will be only briefly described herein.

The tag T leaving the platen 65 is Supported over a vertically reciprocable anvil I40 by a shelf I4I upon which one side edge of the tag rests (Fig. 1). If the tag be of the width to receive three columns of data. the other edge bears against a flange I42 projecting downwardly from a rigidly mounted plate I42, and if the tag be of the narrower width, the other side edge bears against the side face of the plate I43.

The anvil I 40 on which the material to receive the tag is placed is reciprocated by mechanism comprising a double-faced cam I44 mounted on the main shaft having a cam track I45 on one face, a lever I 46 pivoted on a rock shaft I41, a second lever I48 pivoted to the lever I 46 and interconnected at one end with the anvil I40, and a tension spring I49 by which the outer ends of the levers I48 and I 48 are connected.

The pins by which the tags are attached to the material are removably carried by a paper strip mounted in the hood in the form of a coil Ill. The coil III is supported upon one end of the stud 4i. which end is separated by the cross-plate 42 from the end which supports the tag strip 8. and

8 isheldinpositionthereonbyastrap Il2which ensaaesthestudinthesamemannerasdoesthe strap 44 for the tag strip. The strip Ill pales fromthehoodll throughasuidingtrough Ill. down avertical passageway I84 to aslot Ill. The Pins are removed from the pin strip as it enters the slot III and the strip passes to the right of the machine between intermittently driven rollers I", II1 by which the strip is advanced (Fig. 3). The pin is removed from a strip and passed through the material and tag on the anvil I by aplunger I carried by a driver head III.

The driver head Iti is actuated by the cam I44 through a cam track (not shown) on the face 09- posite the face carrying the cam track I48. The cam I44 reciprocates a bell crank lever I82 (Figs. 1 and 3) pivoted on the rock shaft I41. and an arm I" (Fig. 3) yieldably connected to the lever I82 and pivotally connected at its lower end to the rock shaft I41 and at its upper end to the driver head I ll. The pin strip advancing rollers I", I51 are actuated by a pawl Ill (Fig. 3) on the driver head ISI which engages a ratchet I" on the roller II1 to advance the strip Ill one step after each pin-has been removed therefrom.

The various cams on the main shaft 2| are mounted in such a manner that the various operations described above take place in definite order. Fig. 17 illustrates diametrically the operations of these cams during the rotation of the shaft through one complete cycle. and shows the timing of such operations. The curve A represents the movement of the strip feed finger It. curves B. C and D represent the movements of the printing head it during the application of one. two or three impressions. respectively, upon the tag T, curves E. F and G represent the movements of the platen 85 during the same conditions, curve H represents the movement of the pusher 51 by which the tag T is removed from the platen 6!. curve I representsthe movement of the cutter 10. and curve J represents the movement of the pin inserting plunger I".

Curve A shows that the feeding finger I remains stationary during the first half of the cycle and during the second half advances to feed the forward end of the strip onto the platen and at the completion of the cycle then resumes its normal position.

Curves B. C. D, E, F and G will be considered in pairs since they relate to three different and independent settings of the machine.

Curves B and E apply when a single impression is applied upon the tag T. The printing head It begins its approach shortly before the first quar- -ter ofthe cycle has been completed, and resumes its normal station just before the second quarter has been completed and is stationary during the rest of the cycle (curve B), while the platen ti remains stationary throughout the entire cycle (curve E) Curves C and F apply when two impressions are applied. The printing head it starts its descent for the first impression with the beginning of the cycle. completes that impression with the first quarter, immediately starts its descent for the second impression which it completes with the second quarter. and remains at rest during the completion of the cycle (curve C) while the platen 65 is shifted to the right-hand position and held therein during the first impression so that the first column printed is the one adjacent the left edge of the tag. returns to normal as the printing head starts its descent for the second when the machine is set for two-impression operation (see curve C). The other impression (in the middle column) is received during the last portion of the preceding cycle (curve D). The platen 65, carrying the tag which has its middle column already printed, is shifted first to the right-hand position so that the tag receives an impression adjacent its left edge, second to the left-hand position so that the tag receives an impression adjacent its right edge, and third to its normal position. In this three-impression operation, the impression that is then applied when the platen is in normal position is received by the next tag of the sequence, the operations of the tag pusher 51 and strip feed finger 56 (curves A and H) having taken place before this impression.

From the above it will be noted that one impression of each setting is applied while the platen 65 is at rest in its normal position (corresponding to Fig. 12), that in the two settings where more than one impression is applied, another impression is applied while the platen isin its righthand position (corresponding to Fig. 13), and that in the setting where the three impressions are applied, the third impression occurs while the platen is in its left-hand position. This lefthand position of the platen (corresponding to Fig. 14) is not used when either one or two impressions are made per tag, and the right-hand position of the platen (corresponding to. Fig. 13) is not used when only a single impression is made her tag.

Curve H shows that the pusher 51 remains stationary behind the cutter I0 (see Fig. 4) until near the end of the first half of the cycle and then advances to push the printed tag T out of the platen. It will be noted that in each setting of the machine the efiective portion of the advance of the pusher 51 takes place while the platen 65 is stationary in its normal position, and that the pusher 51 precedes the feeding finger 56 so that the printed tags do not impede the feed of the strip.

Curve I shows that the cutting of the tag from the strip occurs in the last quarter of the cycle and that the cutter completes its return to its normal position at the start of the cycle. In each setting of the machine the platen 65 is stationary during the cutting operation.

Curve J shows that the pin driver I60, by which the pin is driven through the material and tag, operates near the end of the cycle and substantially in unison with the cutter l0, and that the final rearward movement of the driver head by which the pin strip is advanced takes place at the beginning of the ycle.

We claim:

1. A tag printing machine comprising periodically operating means for advancing the tag lengthwise. a type-carrying printing head arranged to print on a longitudinally extending zone of the tag, means, acting between successive operations of the lengthwise advancin means, for causing between such operations a cycle of back and forth shifting movement of the relative positions of the printing head and tag transversely of the path of advance to relative positions of the printing head and tag in which different longitudinally extending zones of the same tag are presented to the same type of said printing head, and means for operating the printing head a plurality of times for each said cycle of transverse relative shifting movement between successive operations of the lengthwise advancing means, at times when the respective diflerent longitudinally extending zones of the tag are presented to said same type.

2. A tag printing machine comprising periodically operating means for advancing the tag lengthwise, a platen, a type-carrying printing head arranged to print on a longitudinally extending zone of a tag on the platen, means. acting between successive operations of the lengthwise advancing means. for causing between such operations a cycle of back and forth shifting movement of the relative positions of the printing head and platen transversely oi the path of advance to relative positions of the printing head and platen in which the platen presents different longitudinally extending zones of the same tag to the same type of said printing head, and means for operating the printing head a plurality of times for each said cycle of transverse relative shifting movement between successive operations of the lengthwise advancing means, at times when the platen presents the respective different longitudinally extending zones of the same tag to said same type.

3. A tag printing machine comprising periodically operating means for advancing the tag lengthwise, a platen movable into and out of longitudinal alignment with the path of advance, a type-carrying printing head arranged to print on a longitudinally extending zone of a tag on the platen, means, acting between successive operations of the lengthwise advancing means for causing between such operations a cycle of back and forth shifting movement of the platen transversely of the path of advance to positions in which the platen presents respectively different longitudinally extending zones of the same tag to the same type of said printing head, said cycle of shifting movement of the platen beginning and ending with the platen in longitudinal tag and to discharge the preceding tag, and

means for operating the printing head a plurality of times for each said cycle of transverse shifting movement of the platen between successive operations of the lengthwise advancing means, at times when the platen presents the respective different longitudinally extending zones of the same tag to said same t pe.

4. A tag printing machine comprising periodically operating means for advancing the tag lengthwise, a platen movable into and out of longitudinal alignment with the path of advance, a type-carrying printing head arranged to print on a longitudinally extending zone of a tag on the platen, means, acting between successive operations 01' the lengthwise advancing means for causing between such operations a cycle of back and forth shifting movement of the platen transversely of the path of advance to positions in which the platen presents respectively diflerent longitudinally extending zones of the same tag to the same type of said printing head, said cycle of shifting movement of the platen beginning and ending with the platen in longitudinal alignment with the path of longitudinal advance, means for selectively determining the number of said positions to which the platen brings the ta 1am Oct. 18, 1921 Apr. 24, 1984 Nov. 15, 1938 Nov. 29. 1933 3, 1938 Jan, 28, 1929 Nov. 27, 1934 my 0 Dec. 3. 1935 June 8, 193"! UNITED STATES PATENTS m 81mm Name operating the printing head a plus a for each add cycle of transverse 2,186,941 Flood 2,138.793 Muller 2,139,719 Brewing et a1. Dec. 1

Shively Collar 028,31: Gouwitzer 2. Flood CARL A. HOOD. 3,03,150 Flood 3mm CITED 1 Mmmdmordlnthe flleolthlsmmt: 

